Dr. Sandra Hasanefendic is an Assistant Professor in Breakthrough Technologies, Management and Policy and an Associate Lead of the Breakthrough Technologies and Sustainable Innovation Group. With 10 years of research experience Sandra has a deep understanding of how emerging and disruptive technologies can be leveraged to create sustainable solutions for the world's most pressing problems in i.e. healthcare, energy systems, city development, agriculture and food systems, and higher education.
Sandra’s work has focused on the nature and nurture side of breakthrough technology, looking into the techno-economic viability for its implementation and considering organizational and individual aspects in fostering deep tech ventures in the process. Sandra has a proven track record of developing innovative solutions that have real-world impact. She has published in several respected journals on the topic such as Technology Forecasting and Social Change, Renewable Energy, Studies in Higher Education, Higher Education Policy, among others.
Working on a better world
She has worked with a variety of organizations, from startups (e.g. Fitsurance, Preactive) to universities and governments (e.g. Portugal) to help them identify and capitalize on new opportunities in the technology and sustainability sectors. She is also the scientific coordinator of the Knowledge for People, the Planet and Prosperity through Partnerships which promotes collaborative projects fostering Human Agency and the governance of data ecologies to achieve Sustainable and Healthy Territories and reduce inequalities in the digital age, together with “Net Zero” societies https://k4palliances.com.
In addition to her work in science and industry, Sandra is a sought-after speaker and thought leader, regularly speaking at academic conferences and smaller workshop industry related events around the world. She also serves on the Ethics’s Committee of the Faculty of Science of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where she works to promote responsible and open science and research education. She is also a member of the Examination Board of the Science, Business and Innovation Programme Degree where she is responsible for evaluating the quality of the bachelor and master programme by safeguarding the quality of the interim and final examinations.
In addition to her research, Sandra is also a dedicated teacher and mentor. She has supervised numerous graduate students and PhD researchers, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in industry and academia. She teaches courses at bachelor and master level at the Science, Business and Innovation Programme and is passionate about her innovative teaching style which aims to harness interdisciplinary in each student for the future tech labor market engagement.
Education and international collaboration
Sandra holds a double PhD degree from ISCTE, the Open University in Lisbon and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and she continues to push the boundaries of breakthrough and deep tech research through ongoing collaboration with colleagues in academia and industry. Among others, her international collaborations extend to universities in Germany (Munster University of Applied Sciences), Portugal (University of Lisbon; Aveiro University), US (MIT Media Lab), Japan (Waseda and Sophia University) and Sweden.
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